Rooster with infected foot.

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souza021478

souza021478

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6 Years
Jan 12, 2014
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I have a 1-1/2 year old rooster with an infected, swollen foot. He has a hard time walking due to pain, he is a very large heavy bird. I lanced it and took out some black rotten looking meat. After the dead skin/black ball was removed pus started coming. I sprayed it with antiseptic spray made for farm animals. His knot on his foot is not going away and it's still leaking pus. I've been giving him antibiotics. I thought it might be bumble foot but there is no hole in the knot. Can someone tell me how to help my rooster? Any advise is appreciated. Please contact me via email.... [email protected]
 
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Welcome to BYC. Is the picture at the top after you had done surgery on it or before? That is a pretty big bumble foot in that first picture. Sometimes it is hard to get all of the infection out without soaking in some epsom salts and re-opening the foot. Besides more surgery, it may need a round of antibiotics. You would get the best ones (like baytril, cephalexin, clavamox, etc.) from the vet, and they could do the surgery as well. The feed stores will have injectable penicillin which is the best we can get without a prescription, unless you get some online from a fish medicine supplier.
 
Thank you for the response! These photos were taken after his foot was lanced. It seemed to take away the swelling a little but he seems to still be in pain and still limping. The pus is still coming out. I've spoken to a couple vets but they don't want to help him, they think it's easier to put him down. I'm going to try the medicines you recommend. I hope something helps. Thanks again!!
 
I have done bumblefoot surgery on much less infected chickens, but if I were you I would try cutting off all of the scabbed area, going a little deeper, and squeezing like mad in every direction to get all of the pus out. It hardens into a solid waxy ball in there, and it won't disappear. Then also do the antibiotics, since that type of infection can easily go into the bone, and it will be all over. A drug such as baytril (enrofloxacin) would be so much better for him. Here is a link for buying it online:
http://www.californiapetpharmacy.com/fiene2560.html
Here is a link to giving penicillin shots: http://shilala.homestead.com/injection.html
and the last 2 paragraghs of post #2 in this link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/352701/how-do-i-administer-a-penicillin-shot-to-a-chicken
 
Being on the left foot, it could be MS, Mycoplasma Synoviae. Swelling in the tendon sheaths of the left foot. MS effects the left foot only and can cause swelling in the foot joint and hock. Do not lance this type of thing. Antibiotics only. I had an outbreak of MS in my flock. Feet look just like yours. I used Baytril and Cephalexin at the same time. Toward the end I removed the Ceph and used Doxycycline. Took 3 full months on antibiotics to clear up the MS.

Meanwhile, I did daily surgeries on the pad to drain the fluid from the sheaths which do drain into the pad. One nightmare of a few months. Of course if the bird does have MS, it can be a carrier for life. It can also run rampant thru the flock and cause all sorts of other issues....liver infections, blue combs, anorxia, funky shaped eggs, respiratory ailments. But not always does it show signs in any of the rest of the flock.

A vet can take a blood sample to check for MS.
 
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My father in law has been giving him Tylan 200. Is this type of medicine good for him? This is what the vet has suggested (besides putting in down).
 
Tylan is more for respiratory ailments or GI tract infections. You need something that works on soft tissue like the ones I was using. I don't think the Tylan is good enough for this type of infection. You can get all these meds on line from some poultry supply places.

I wish I had more answers for you.
 
Eggcessive said:
I have done bumblefoot surgery on much less infected chickens, but if I were you I would try cutting off all of the scabbed area, going a little deeper, and squeezing like mad in every direction to get all of the pus out. It hardens into a solid waxy ball in there, and it won't disappear. Then also do the antibiotics, since that type of infection can easily go into the bone, and it will be all over. A drug such as baytril (enrofloxacin) would be so much better for him. Here is a link for buying it online:
http://www.californiapetpharmacy.com/fiene2560.html
Here is a link to giving penicillin shots: http://shilala.homestead.com/injection.html
and the last 2 paragraghs of post #2 in this link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/352701/how-do-i-administer-a-penicillin-shot-to-a-chicken
Click to expand...
I do like Penicillin for that. Aside from that, I would be soaking the foot in Epsom salts daily or wrap in ichthamol, and squeeze the rest of that pus out. Sounds like infection and getting serious.
 
TwoCrows said:
Being on the left foot, it could be MS, Mycoplasma Synoviae. Swelling in the tendon sheaths of the left foot. MS effects the left foot only and can cause swelling in the foot joint and hock. Do not lance this type of thing. Antibiotics only. I had an outbreak of MS in my flock. Feet look just like yours.  I used Baytril and Cephalexin at the same time. Toward the end I removed the Ceph and used Doxycycline. Took 3 full months on antibiotics to clear up the MS. 

Meanwhile, I did daily surgeries on the pad to drain the fluid from the sheaths which do drain into the pad. One nightmare of a few months. Of course if the bird does have MS, it can be a carrier for life. It can also run rampant thru the flock and cause all sorts of other issues....liver infections, blue combs, anorxia, funky shaped eggs, respiratory ailments. But not always does it show signs in any of the rest of the flock.

A vet can take a blood sample to check for MS.
Click to expand...
Do you have any references for MS only affecting the left leg and foot?
 
I got this information from my local country avian vet who also works for the Agricultural Dept. here in New Mexico. He was the one that took the blood and did the blood work. This was a few years ago and I can not remember all of our conversations so long ago. But I do remember him saying that...Turkeys are more likely to contract MS than chickens and that rarely if ever, is the right foot joint or hock involved. That the left foot joints and hocks are the ones that become infected.

Now I do not know if this was from scientific studies or his own clinical findings. However it was because of this "symptom" of the left foot, that he was able to make the first initial diagnosis of my flock, as the several birds that did have the synovial issues associated with MS, (several others in the flock did not exhibit the swollen joints, but did have other symptoms associated with MS) all had the swelling in the left feet only. And of course the blood work came back positive that the entire flock had MS.
 

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